James Brady

James Brady (29 August 1940-4 August 2014) was White House Press Secretary from 20 January 1981 to 30 March 1981, succeeding Jody Powell and preceding Larry Speakes.

Biography
James Brady was born in Centralia, Illinois in 1940, and he began his public service career as a staffer for US Senator Everett Dirksen. In 1979, he served as press secretary for John Connally's presidential bid, but, after Connally withdrew from the race, he participated in Ronald Reagan's presidential bid. Reagan made Brady his White House Press Secretary upon entering office in 1981, but, on 30 March 1981 (just 69 days into the Reagan presidency), Reagan and his cabinet members (including Brady) came under fire from the crazed John Hinckley Jr. as they left the Washington Hilton Hotel. The first of six bullets hit Brady above his left eye, and all major media outlets jumped to the conclusion that Brady had died; however, he survived with slurred speech, blindness, and partial paralysis which confined him to a wheelchair. He then went on to become a gun control advocate as the Chair of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, lobbying for stricter handgun control and assault weapon restrictions. In 1996, President Bill Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Brady died in Alexandria, Virginia in 2014.